Three-Dimensional Modelling of Indexed Papillary Muscle Displacement in Patients Requiring Mitral Valve Surgery Using Four-Dimensional Echocardiography Variables.

: Two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiographic imaging are commonly used in assessing ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) and degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR) in patients with mitral valve disease. However, the use of 4D echocardiographic imaging has not yet been reported. The objectives of this study were to explore the efficacy of utilizing 4D echocardiographic variables, determine papillary muscle displacement in patients with either IMR or DMR, and compare the differences in papillary muscle displacement between groups.

Exploring the Feasibility of a Caregiver Burden-Mastery Hybrid Assessment Tool With Decision Matrix in a Memory Clinic: A Multimethod Study.

Introduction: Family members caring for a person living with dementia (PWD) can experience caregiver burden, leading to psychological distress if unmanaged. It's essential for healthcare professionals, especially nurses to identify caregivers at risk of stress and depression, triggering prompt management during their contact with caregivers of PWD. The study team developed an evidence-based caregiver burden-mastery hybrid assessment and intervention decision matrix (CHAT-MI) for caregivers of PWD and examined its feasibility of use.

Psychometric properties of the Malay and Chinese Epilepsy Self-Stigma Scale (ESSS).

Objective: Self-stigma means internalizing negative beliefs and attitudes associated with stigmatized identity. This study aimed to translate and validate the Malay and Chinese versions of the Epilepsy Self-Stigma Scale (ESSS).

Methods: The Epilepsy Self-Stigma Scale was translated into the Malay (ESSS-M) and Chinese versions (ESSS-C) according to standard principles and were tested in 100 Malay and 100 Chinese-speaking people with epilepsy (PWE) respectively.

A multivariate and retrospective analysis of the impact of intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation in Open-Heart surgery.

Background The use of intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) effectively reduces left ventricular afterload and significantly increases coronary perfusion pressure by raising aortic diastolic pressure. This study examined the short and medium-term outcomes of 22,540 adult cardiac surgical patients requiring an IABP. Methods From 2009 to 2018, 1114 patients (4.

Artificial intelligence based assessment of minimally invasive surgical skills using standardised objective metrics - A narrative review.

Introduction: Many studies display significant heterogeneity in the reliability of artificial intelligence (AI) assessment of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) skills. Our objective is to investigate whether AI systems utilising standardised objective metrics (SOMs) as the basis of skill assessment can provide a clearer understanding of the current state of such technology.

Methods: We systematically searched Medline, Embase, Scopus, CENTRAL and Web of Science from March 2023 to September 2023.

Omiganan-Based Synthetic Antimicrobial Peptides for the Healthcare of Infectious Endophthalmitis.

Bacterial endophthalmitis is a severe infection of the aqueous or vitreous humor of the eye that can lead to permanent vision loss. Due to the rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance and dose-limiting toxicities, the standard treatment of bacterial endophthalmitis via the intravitreal injection of broad-spectrum antibiotics remains inadequate. Membrane active cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have emerged as a promising class of effective and broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents with potential to overcome antibiotic resistance.

Optimally Suppressed Phonon Tunneling in van der Waals Graphene-WS Heterostructure with Ultralow Thermal Conductivity.

Van der Waals heterostructures have great potential for realizing ultimately low thermal conductivity because defectless interfaces can be constructed at a length scale smaller than the phonon wavelength, allowing modulation of coherent phonon transport. In this Letter, we demonstrate the mechanism for thermal conductivity reduction at a mode-resolved level. The graphene-WS heterostructure with the lowest cross-plane thermal conductivity of 0.

Microbiological culture versus 16S/18S rRNA gene PCR-sanger sequencing for infectious keratitis: a three-arm, diagnostic cross-sectional study.

Background: To compare the diagnostic performance of microbiological culture and 16S/18S rRNA gene polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-Sanger sequencing for infectious keratitis (IK) and to analyse the effect of clinical disease severity on test performance and inter-test concordance.

Methods: This was a three-arm, diagnostic cross-sectional study. We included all eligible patients who presented with presumed bacterial/fungal keratitis to the Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK, between June 2021 and September 2022.

Minimally Invasive Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in a Low-Risk Asian Cohort: A Propensity-Score Matched Study.

Introduction: Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting (MICS CABG) offers a new paradigm in coronary revascularization. This study aims to compare the outcomes of MICS CABG with those of conventional median sternotomy CABG (MS CABG) within a growing minimally invasive cardiac surgical program in Singapore.

Methods: Propensity matching produced 111 patient pairs who underwent MICS CABG or MS CABG between January 2009 and February 2020 at the National University Heart Centre, Singapore.

Viscerosensory signalling to the nucleus accumbens via the solitary tract nucleus.

The nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) receives direct viscerosensory vagal afferent input that drives autonomic reflexes, neuroendocrine function and modulates behaviour. A subpopulation of NTS neurons project to the nucleus accumbens (NAc); however, the function of this NTS-NAc pathway remains unknown. A combination of neuroanatomical tracing, slice electrophysiology and fibre photometry was used in mice and/or rats to determine how NTS-NAc neurons fit within the viscerosensory network.

Is preoperative IABP insertion significantly reducing postoperative complication in augmented high-risk coronary artery bypass grafting patients?

Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether pre-operative intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) insertion improves surgical outcomes in high-risk coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients.

Methods: Patients with a EuroSCORE II greater than 1.2% who underwent CABG from 2009 to 2016 were included in the study, while those who utilized intra-operative or post-operative IABP were excluded.

Functional outcomes of bony sarcoma (BS) in Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (AYAO) patients-a scoping review.

Background: Sarcomas are heterogeneous rare cancers, and while they affect 1% of all adult cancers, they affect 10-20% of adolescents and young adults (AYAs). The 5-year survival rates range between 50-60% but have remained stagnant. While the management of bony sarcomas (BS) usually involves systemic treatment and major morbid surgeries, functional outcomes and quality of life have been largely overlooked.

Lion city soundscapes: Modified partitioning around medoids for a perceptually diverse dataset of Singaporean soundscapesa).

This study presents a dataset of audio-visual soundscape recordings at 62 different locations in Singapore, initially made as full-length recordings over spans of 9-38 min. For consistency and reduction in listener fatigue in future subjective studies, one-minute excerpts were cropped from the full-length recordings. An automated method using pre-trained models for Pleasantness and Eventfulness (according to ISO 12913) in a modified partitioning around medoids algorithm was employed to generate the set of excerpts by balancing the need to encompass the perceptual space with uniformity in distribution.

Migration health ethics in Southeast Asia: a scoping review.

Background: Asia hosts the second-largest international migrant population in the world. In Southeast Asia (SEA), key types of migration are labour migration, forced migration, and environmental migration. This scoping review seeks to identify key themes and gaps in current research on the ethics of healthcare for mobile and marginalised populations in SEA, and the ethics of research involving these populations.

Neonatal Nucleus Accumbens Microstructure Modulates Individual Susceptibility to Preconception Maternal Stress in Relation to Externalizing Behaviors.

Objective: Maternal stress influences in utero brain development and is a modifiable risk factor for offspring psychopathologies. Reward circuitry dysfunction underlies various internalizing and externalizing psychopathologies. This study examined (1) the association between maternal stress and microstructural characteristics of the neonatal nucleus accumbens (NAcc), a major node of the reward circuitry, and (2) whether neonatal NAcc microstructure modulates individual susceptibility to maternal stress in relation to childhood behavioral problems.

Investigation of Biofilm-Associated Toxin as a Potential Squamous Cell Carcinoma Therapeutic.

Cancer therapies developed using bacteria and their components have been around since the 19th century. Compared to traditional cancer treatments, the use of bacteria-derived compounds as cancer therapeutics could offer a higher degree of specificity, with minimal off-target effects. Here, we explored the use of soluble bacteria-derived toxins as a potential squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) therapeutic.

Screen time, brain network development and socio-emotional competence in childhood: moderation of associations by parent-child reading.

Background: Screen time in infancy is linked to changes in social-emotional development but the pathway underlying this association remains unknown. We aim to provide mechanistic insights into this association using brain network topology and to examine the potential role of parent-child reading in mitigating the effects of screen time.

Methods: We examined the association of screen time on brain network topology using linear regression analysis and tested if the network topology mediated the association between screen time and later socio-emotional competence.

Free-Standing Hierarchically Porous Silica Nanoparticle Superstructures: Bridging the Nano- to Microscale for Tailorable Delivery of Small and Large Therapeutics.

Nanoscale colloidal self-assembly is an exciting approach to yield superstructures with properties distinct from those of individual nanoparticles. However, the bottom-up self-assembly of 3D nanoparticle superstructures typically requires extensive chemical functionalization, harsh conditions, and a long preparation time, which are undesirable for biomedical applications. Here, we report the directional freezing of porous silica nanoparticles (PSiNPs) as a simple and versatile technique to create anisotropic 3D superstructures with hierarchical porosity afforded by microporous PSiNPs and newly generated meso- and macropores between the PSiNPs.

Is evoking fear effective? Exploratory findings from a randomised experiment on the impacts of health warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages.

Objective: Health warning labels (HWL) have been suggested to be effective in reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). Yet, the efficacy and acceptability of SSB HWL of different formats (textual/pictorial) and severity remain unclear. This exploratory study aims to examine the extent and mechanism through which HWL of different formats and severity may affect responses towards the HWL and SSB consumption.

Evolution and ecology of Jeilongvirus among wild rodents and shrews in Singapore.

Background: Jeilongvirus was proposed as a new genus within the Paramyxoviridae in 2018. The advancement in metagenomic approaches has encouraged multiple reports of Jeilongvirus detection following the initial species discovery, enriching species diversity and host range within the genus. However, Jeilongvirus remains understudied in Singapore, where interfaces between humans and small mammals are plentiful.

Exploring the general public's and experts' risk and benefit perceptions of cultured meat in Singapore: A mental models approach.

Despite the recent approval of cultured meat products in Singapore, the understanding of public perceptions towards this novel food technology remains limited. Utilizing attitude formation theory and the mental models approach, this study compares the mental models of the general public and experts regarding their risk and benefit perceptions of cultured meat. Through four online focus group discussions with 40 participants, we found convergences in the mental models of experts and the general public concerning perceived individual- and societal-level benefits of cultured meat (e.

Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON) participatory learning and action women's groups to improve infant feeding and practices in South Asian infants: pilot randomised trial study protocol.

Introduction: Feeding practices developed in early life can impact a child's nutrition, growth, dental health, cognitive development and lifetime risk of chronic diseases. Substantial evidence suggests ethnic health inequalities, and non-recommended complementary infant feeding practices among UK's South Asian (SA) population. Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition aims to use women's group participatory learning and action (PLA) cycles to optimise infant feeding, care and dental hygiene practices in SA infants <2 years in East London.

Non-selective Del Nido and St Thomas cardioplegia in adults: analysis of early clinical experience using propensity matching.

Background: Del Nido cardioplegia (DNC) is a single-dose, high potassium, low-volume cardioplegia solution that has grown in favor recently. However, the use of DNC in the Asian population may be associated with certain challenges.

Methods: Between January 2017 and April 2022, DNC was used for myocardial protection in this single-center retrospective study.